June 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

I've been wanting to try making a log cabin quilt for a long time, so when Modern Log Cabin Quilting came out, I grabbed a copy. Of course, I'm not doing any particular project from the book, because that would be too easy. Instead, I read the opening chapter that gives you hints and tips, grabbed a FQ bundle I had laying around and started stitching.

The blocks are going together quickly and easily, so I'm thinking there may be more log cabin quilts in my future.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

While we didn't find much produce at the farmers' market over the weekend, the orchid guy was there as usual. I fell in love with this Phalaenopsis, named "Golden Treasure", and had to bring it home with me. I don't have a decent photo of the whole plant, but it has three stems -- one with a secondary branch. This beauty should be flowering for months. And the blooms are even more gorgeous in person -- the palest yellow striped with a showy magenta.

The orchid buying experience got me thinking about two of my other orchids which were in serious need of re-potting -- so now they are in happy new homes, which will hopefully get that little 2 leafed guy growing and blooming. I have a fourth orchid also which recently finished blooming -- as seen in this post. I think, perhaps, that this orchid thing is addictive.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I love vintage FireKing and collect jadeite, but I love the milky white color they produced also. It may be difficult to see from this photo, but the glass is thin enough that the light shines through it beautifully, making the bowl glow.

So beautiful even after what was probably decades of use. I found this at an estate sale over the weekend for $5 and gladly brought it home with me.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

We went to the farmers market this morning, and there wasn't a whole lot to be found. There were lots of strawberries (which is odd, since it's so late in the year for them -- but the weather here has been weird), and not much else. One booth did have some (fairly) local sweet cherries, so I brought two pints home.

One pint was immediately turned into jam, which was quick and easy since it was such a small batch.

About one and a half jars for eating now, and one to put up. I had it done before lunch.

A lunch which included a homemade Cherry Vanilla Cream Soda! Super yummy. (I used the recipe for the cream soda syrup that you can find on Martha Stewart's website.)

Saturday, June 25, 2011

I love yard sales. Last weekend, Pete, Maddie & I stopped at a few sales on Saturday morning and I found this Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for $2. It's a $50 machine and it was brand new -- never used as far as I could tell. I actually already had one of these at home, but wanted an extra freezer bowl which is like $20 (plus shipping & tax -- so probably closer to $30). Super deal!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Sodastream thingy seems to be all the rage right now and having made soda from scratch previously (with yeast and all that), I was interested. Then I saw the price and size of them. I'm one of those people who do not like things out on the counter, and there are only so many kitchen gadgets that I can fit in the cabinets.

Then, while shopping at one of my favorite stores -- Williams-Sonoma -- I saw the Twist 'n Sparkle from iSi. It's smaller -- just the bottle and wand, it uses standard soda chargers, and it's relatively inexpensive at $50. And since I happened to have a gift certificate in said amount to said store -- it came home with me.

Yesterday I brewed up some ginger syrup, so that I could make my own ginger ale. All you do is peel and slice some ginger -- I didn't measure or weigh the ginger this time, but rather used the piece I happened to grab at the grocery. I'm sure it ended up being less than a cup.

I added a cup of sugar and two cups of water and simmered this mixture for about an hour. After it cooled slightly, I strained it and transferred it to a bottle and put it in the fridge to chill.

Don't toss that ginger! You can use can dredge it in some sugar and put in a cool oven (225º) for a couple hours and you'll have some tasty candied ginger as a bonus!

To make the ginger ale, I took a tall glass, added about 3 Tbsp of the chilled ginger syrup, squeezed in a quarter of a lime, filled with carbonated water -- made in my new toy -- and topped it off with ice. Very refreshing, and not too sweet. I'm looking forward to making more sodas soon.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Yesterday I dropped Maddie off at camp and went to a little farm called Olive Berry Acres just outside Mazon, IL -- about an hour drive from my town. It wasn't a bad drive, and after about 20 minutes I lost NPR and drove in silence -- admiring the countryside.

Upon arriving at the farm I was given a little bucket and I went out into the strawberry field. There were plenty of berries and I had a full pail in no time.

After driving home, I washed the berries in a big tub -- and hulled them...

And let me tell you a secret -- if you have a lot of strawberries to hull, use a grapefruit spoon. Is this common knowledge? Because I was looking through my kitchen drawers, trying to think of something that would make this long boring job a bit quicker. I saw the grapefruit spoon and decided to give it a try and it was totally the right tool for the job.

After that there was jam making and canning. (Oops -- no jam making photos. Had my hands full at the time.)

Then lunch -- which was eaten at about 3PM, at which time I was very hungry, indeed!

Seven jars put up and one in the fridge -- a busy day, but totally worth it. I'm looking forward to raspberry season.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

(This photo has nothing to do with this post, but I don't like photoless posts -- so there you go.)

With Maddie in Summer Camp for the months of June and July, my schedule is completely disrupted. Here's how things go for most of the year: Maddie and I wake up when we wake up -- usually between 7:30 and 8:00. Maddie eats breakfast and plays/watches TV while I work out and shower. School runs from 10 - 1. Then lunch, work (me) and homework (Maddie) plus free time, errands, etc. until dinner.

Now we are dragging our sorry selves out of bed at 7am. Neither Maddie nor I are morning people, so this is quite a feat. Then we eat breakfast, get ready and I take her to camp. This has screwed up my work out schedule, so I've given up on the Pilates/Yoga I usually do and started walking after I drop her off.

This new routine has been quite enjoyable (after the initial shock -- I do not like changes in my schedule), and I've started listening to podcasts again.

Here's my question -- what podcasts do you like? I walk for between 30 - 60 minutes, so I am quickly burning through the podcasts I have on my iPhone. Please give me suggestions.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

This morning I logged on and checked a few blogs in my feed reader -- once again coming upon a post about Rose Petal Jam from Norma. For some reason that I cannot explain, I decided then and there that today I would make this jam, because if Norma keeps making it year after year, it has to be good.

We have three main rose varieties. First the big, old rose bush that was here when we bought the house:

Then there are the roses we planted on the side of the house -- which looked pretty bad last year, but seem to be doing well so far this Spring:

And finally, the most recent addition is in the back corner of the yard, which is somewhat shady, so they are not flowering yet. (Ooooh! Maybe that means I can make more jam later this summer!)

I used a mix of the two that are flowering at the moment, and when I mixed them up in the blender...

Love that color!

The entire process was very easy, quick and painless. And I discovered another reason to love my new dishwasher -- the "sanitize" feature! So easy to get canning jars ready by running them through that cycle.

I ended up with a pretty good supply. Considering there are only 3 of us, this should last a while. And isn't it so pretty?

A note on the flavor. Norma described it as "Summer on a spoon," and I would have to agree. I'm sure the variety of rose determines the flavor to a certain extent, and mine really did taste a bit like the petals smelled. I bit floral, a little like ripe berries and a pop of brightness from the lemon. Highly addictive!

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Since Maddie was very small, we would give her an envelope when she lost a tooth and let her write a message to the Tooth Fairy on it and place the tooth inside. When she was young she had questions and requests for the TF (please write me back!), but now that she is older and in the know, things are a bit different...

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Since Maddie is going to day camp, I have 8 weeks of child free days ahead of me. So what am I going to do with all that free time?

I have no idea.

We have always done school year round in our home -- which leaves us flexibility throughout the year for vacations and random days off. Plus, you don't spend the first month of each school year relearning what you've forgotten over the summer.

So, I've never really had this much time to myself -- especially since I used to work before I had Maddie.

Yesterday was day one, and I have to admit that I didn't do much. It was ridiculously hot here (as it is today), so I ran some errands and stopped at the library. Exciting, don't you think?

Maddie is home sick today with a fever, sore throat and congestion, so today won't be very exciting either, but hopefully in a day or two Maddie will be back at camp and I'll have new projects to share.

Saturday, June 04, 2011

... is hot. Like ridiculous hot. Summer hot. 92º and climbing. (The heat and I are not friends.)

... I ate my first garden grown strawberry of 2011. Really, try growing them. They are *so* easy to grow and garden strawberries are like 1000 times more delicious than grocery store strawberries. I kid you not.

... the peonies are blooming and I am enjoying them while I can. In this heat they won't last long.

... Pete and Maddie stopped by a church rummage sale and brought home this little gem. I love Dala horses, and this is a sweet little piece. (Sverige means Sweden in Swedish.)

... I plan to have a cool drink and relax so I can (finally) get over this head cold.

Friday, June 03, 2011

Sure, it's just day camp, but this is so weird for me as a homeschooling mom. I'm used to being with her literally 24/7, and an 8 week day camp is a big deal for us.

I'll miss our daily school sessions -- especially the part where she reads to me. (Maybe I can convince her to keep that up in the evenings.) But I'm happy that she will have a chance to socialize with kids in her age group. All the other camps she has gone to have lasted only a week or two, which isn't quite enough time to really connect.

As for me? I'll be left with lots of free time that I am not used to having. I think a big project or two are in my future. This camp thing should be good for both of us, but I'm still going to miss having her around during the day these next 2 months.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

While my Macbook is pretty compact and lightweight, my iPad is even more petite, so I knew I would be bringing it on vacation with me. And while I have one of those fancy magnetic covers, I wanted a little more protection for my iPad since my carry on luggage is not well padded.

I whipped up this little felted wool case in literally 10 minutes the day before our trip. I have a bin of pre-shrunk thrift store wool sweaters, so I choose this colorful, stripey piece, stuck the iPad between the front and back of the sweater and pinned very close all the way around 3 sides. Then I simply sewed inside the pins, clipped the seems very close and turned it inside out. to make the flap, I cut straight across one side and made a rounded edge on the other. I ran a line of stitching about 1/4 in. to the inside of the rounded flap to keep the wool from stretching out of shape.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

This past week we flew out to Seattle & Tacoma to watch our nephew graduate from college and have a little vacation. The weather was mostly overcast, but mild, so we were able to walk around the city quite a bit. We visited many used bookstores (6? 7?) and found some good gluten free eats.

The Seattle Aquarium was one of our favorite stops -- small, but with a good variety of exhibits. I found the colors of these starfish quite inspirational and may be doing a little wool dyeing in the near future as a result.

In Tacoma we spent a lot of time with family, but also made it out to Point Defiance Park which was really lovely. It had a pretty little beach which was covered with giant pieces of driftwood, a beautiful 5 mile drive, and many lookout points along the way.

It was a nice trip, but I started getting sick the last day and am super happy to be recovering at home.